本次生工實習專題演講我們很榮幸邀請到吳鐘聲博士與我們分享ASML在半導體產業中扮演的關鍵角色及他的觀點。ASML起初是ASMI與飛利浦合夥創立的公司，在1984年於荷蘭開展他們的事業，以機電控制為核心技術應用於曝光機上，在1990年代時，他們推出了首台曝光機PAS5500，往後迅速取得了光刻機設備商的領先地位，與Nikon、Canon並駕齊驅；現今的社會由行動運算逐漸轉變進入了遍布式運算的年代，為了應對晶片的大量需求，曝光機自然是最不可或缺的關鍵要素之一。ASML在美國、台灣、韓國與其他13個國家設立了分公司，考量到他們主要服務的客戶是Intel、台積電以及三星，在美、台、韓的公司規模也較大；時至今日，ASML仍致力於發展更先進的機電控制技術，並與其他握有關鍵的光源、透鏡與光罩生產技術的廠商如CYMER、ZEISS、HOYA等合作，發展出相關產品，包含了可提升產量的TWINSCAN系統與EUV曝光機，成為晶片製造商競逐購買的對象。
撰寫者：大學部吳亭怡
We are pleased to invite director Jonathan Wu to share about the key role of ASML in the semiconductor industry and his point of view. ASML was founded in the Netherlands in 1984 and was first a joint venture of Philips. Their specialty is actually mechatronics, but they work mainly in the fields of lithography. In the late 1990s, they launched the PAS5500, their first photolithography machine. This launch was very successful, and it allowed ASML to become one of the top three giant companies in the fields of lithography alongside Nikon and Canon. Our world today is changing from mobile to ubiquitous computing, which means that the need for computer chips is rising. ASML provides different lithography machines to match the needs of its customers as different chips require different lithography machines to make them. The headquarters of ASML is set in the Netherlands, but it also has companies in countries such as America, Taiwan, Korea, and 13 other countries. Their top three customers are Samsung, TSMC, and Intel. This explains why they set up bigger companies in Korea, Taiwan, and America, since these countries are where their largest customers are located. As of today, ASML is still trying to develop better lithography machines to meet more advanced needs. Their latest lithography machine right now is the TWINSCAN series where EUV lithography systems are utilized. EUV is a technology where extreme ultraviolet lights are exposed onto the wafer to produce specific patterns for semiconductor fabrications. These machines consist of a lot of lenses to enhance the strength of the light rays before they hit the wafer. These EUV lithography machines are extremely expensive, and as of now their only customer that is using machines that consist of this technology is Samsung, TSMC, and Intel as well.
Author: Bachelor student, Ting-Yi Wu